Black Iron Magician

Chapter 446 Disbandment

「Now that I’ve secured one seat~. Do you guys really not want to become the Great Eight Demons? Even though it’s filled with dreams, hopes, and various other things?」

Maria tilted her head in a cute gesture. It seems that she couldn’t understand why I and Nell didn’t want to become the Great Eight Demons.

「It’s obvious! We came here to defeat the Great Eight Demons, not to become one!」

「This elf became one easily, though?」

「That miser is an exception!」

「Is that so? Hmm~, I want to at least get one more person…. Onii-san over there, are you the same as her?」

「Yeah. Sorry, but ordinary people can’t just give up their current life so easily. But, I can help you find a candidate for the new member. I just need to find someone as strong as us, right? And not a good person like us, but a monster with ambition.」

「Hmm~? Are you trying to negotiate?」

「With all due respect, that’s what I’m trying to do. You don’t want to kill us and have high hopes for us. On the other hand, we don’t want to be the Great Eight Demons no matter what. After all, even though we could build wealth and honor, we have to throw our lives as humans and bear responsibility. If so, it’s best to take the middle and find a common ground, right?」

「I see. But, hmm~….」

Maria moved her wings slightly and her body floated in the air. Then, she put her finger on her chin and pondered for a dozen seconds.

「――Yep, perhaps it would be wise to compromise with that. Besides, I don’t dislike your attitude of giving your opinion without being afraid of me.」

「No, I’m quite afraid of you even if I look like this.」

「I also don’t dislike your honesty~. Then, you only have to look for one person. As for the other one, let’s see… I will have Agalia look for the other one!」

「Just one? That’s great for us, but are you sure?」

「It’s fine. Besides, I want him to do a little work as the first rank. Err, Deris and Nell, was it? There’s no need to be in a hurry. The meeting just finished the other day, so we have plenty of time~」

「I-I see. It’s quite lenient, huh…. Just in case, can I ask about the conditions under which the Great Eight Demons were selected so far, or any other details about that?」

「Sure~. After all, Deris and Nell are now like relatives to us Great Eight Demons!」

The sad news came that we were made relatives of the Great Eight Demons without our permission. However, we couldn’t escape from this fate from the point Alezel became one.

「We want to have at least level 7, and preferably level 8. We don’t have any restrictions on race. Even a human is fine if they have the ability and want to do it. But, maybe someone with a low boiling point and quick to fight like Darka and the others is not good. Unlike the old days, the current Great Eight Demons use 『Love and Peace』 as the slogan! I hope you choose someone who respects order!」

「Order, huh? That’s the opposite of the general impression.」

「That’s what necessary evil is, right? If we don’t scare humans properly, we’ll be disqualified as the Great Eight Demons. I mean, humans are always quick to fight among themselves, right? It’s really stupid~. Well, my family is the same, though.」

Maria said so without any hesitation. It was as if she was implying that they were the ones who were protecting the world’s order, not God.

「Ah, that’s right. I’ll take Darka and the others who’re barely alive over there. You’re okay with that, right? We’ve talked about it, and we want to deal with them ourselves. In exchange for the reward for defeating them, you can do whatever you want with the supplies in this castle.」

「Wait, are you going to take this slime too? No, this is my prey.」

「H-Hey, Nell!?」

Nell refused with the last core of Aralkar in one hand. At the same time, I felt like my heart has stopped. I had just found the best way to settle the matter, but if we argued with Maria any further, it would all be over we were unlucky.

(I messed up…!)

Nell really hates it if the prey she killed is snatched. I was well aware of Nell’s character, and that’s why I regretted not paying attention to her. If I was in a normal condition, I would have taken action before Nell said a word, but apparently I lost my composure that I couldn’t do that at this time. The appearance of Maria and the betrayal of Alezel. If such stupid events kept happening, even the fire extinguisher Deris would lose his composure.

「…… Aralkar’s regeneration isn’t even a tenth of mine, but she will revive if you leave her alone, you know? And even if she only has one core. Is that fine?」

「That’s right, Nell. Just give the core――」

「――I’m fine!」

「Neeeeell!?」

「Wow, an immediate answer. What are you going to use it for?」

「If she’s going to revive, I will train her and make her my training partner! Then, I will overtake you someday!」

I put my hands on the ground and hung my head. Not only she refused, but Nell also declared that she would get stronger with this and beat Maria someday. It was completely no good, and it was impossible to make an excuse for this. The fire extinguisher Deris was completely defeated.

「Hee, I’m looking forward to it! Then, you can do whatever you want with Aralkar. I hope that you become strong enough to defeat me!」

「Of course!」

「And Deris too!」

「…… Eh, ah, yes?」

I was speechless by the fact that Maria easily gave the core and the fact that I was alive. It was a happy miscalculation to be alive, but I don’t want to experience anything like this again. I’m not kidding, my life span was shortened.

「Hey, Deris, stop slacking off! Negotiating is your job!」

「Y-Yeah, sorry…. We’re alive, right?」

「We’re alive! But I feel like we lose the match!」

I was struck by Nell and finally returned to my senses. Nell’s appearance seemed to be almost the same as usual, but when I looked closely, I could see that she was sweating a lot. She was acting tough, but I think she was scared.

…… By the way, Alezel was ignoring the conversation and was busy rummaging in the treasure house. No wonder she was so quiet.

「Well then, I leave the rest to you~.」

「Deris, let’s burn that traitor someday.」

「Well, she’s someone troublesome if you make her your enemy….」

After that, Alezel was going to work with Maria for a while, and the 『Unprecedented 』 was disbanded in this place. If the party were to be disbanded, I thought that it was when we were defeated in the battle with the Great Eight Demons, but I didn’t expect that Alezel would become one and leave the party.

After returning to our base, we told our acquaintance adventurers that Alezel wouldn’t come back anymore. Since she wasn’t dead, we didn’t make a death report. We also told them that we retired being adventurers, which surprised them even more.

After that, we went to the continent of Jiba, dating each other in earnest, living together in Adelheit, broke up, summoning a silver-haired girl with the magic I got from the scroll, and had her take the seventh seat of the Great Eight Demons, which also caused various problems. I wanted to enjoy a peaceful life in retirement, but Nell had a burning desire to fight against Maria, and after joining the Magic Knight Order, she continued to train while involving me. Thanks to that, I unintentionally became stronger, and now I have a disciple. The root of Nell’s strength may be her desire to make up for the humiliation of that time.